Randomized study of different anti-stigma media

• Published in: Patient education and counseling Vol. 71; no. 2; pp. 204 - 214
• Main Authors: Finkelstein, Joseph, Lapshin, Oleg, Wasserman, Evgeny
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.05.2008
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude to Health; Attitudes; Computer assisted instruction; Computer-assisted education; Computer-Assisted Instruction - methods; Curriculum; Education, Graduate - methods; Education, Special - organization & administration; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Mental Disorders - rehabilitation; Mentally ill people; Nursing; Program Evaluation; Psychiatric stigma; Psychiatry - education; Russia; Skin Diseases - rehabilitation; Social Distance; Special education; Stereotyping; Stigmatization; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching - methods; Textbooks as Topic; Undergraduate students; Universities; Russia; Psychiatric stigma; Computer-assisted education; Special education
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2008.01.002

Abstract Objective We designed our study to assess if computer-assisted anti-stigma interventions can be effective in reducing the level of psychiatric stigma in a sample of special education university students. Methods We enrolled 193 graduate students. They had two study visits with an interval of 6 months. The participants were randomly distributed into three study groups: 76 students read anti-stigma printed materials (reading group, RG), and 69 studied an anti-stigma computer program (program group, PG), and 48 students were in a control group (CG) and received no intervention. We used the Bogardus scale of social distance (BSSD), the community attitudes toward the mentally ill (CAMI) questionnaire, and the psychiatric knowledge survey (PKS) as the main outcome measures. Results After the intervention BSSD, CAMI and PKS scores significantly improved both in RG and PG. After 6 months in RG two out of three CAMI subscales and PKS scores were not different from the baseline. In PG all stigma and knowledge changes remained significant. Conclusions This study demonstrated that computers can be an effective mean in changing attitudes of students toward psychiatric patients. Practice implications A computer-mediated intervention has the potential for educating graduate students about mental disease and for reducing psychiatric stigma.